an Irish ghost story

[markem]

This happened a while ago in Dublin , Ireland , and even though it
sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock story, it's true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the
road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm. No
cars were traveling that night. The storm was so strong he could
hardly see a few feet ahead of him.

Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stop. John,
desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car
and closed the door...only to realize there was nobody behind the
wheel and the engine wasn't on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a
curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life.

Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the
window and turned the wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as
the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or
harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road.
So, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to the pub.

Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody
about the horrible experience he had just had. Silence enveloped the
pub when everybody realized he was crying and wasn't drunk.

Suddenly the door opened and two other people walked in from the
stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath.

Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said
to the other...

"Look Paddy...there's that freakin' idiot that got in the car while we
were pushin' it."